


The Parenting Adventures of Ahomine, Bakagami, and Their New Neighbor

by bisexualkiseryouta



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Child!Akashi, Kagami and Aomine attempting to parent, M/M, basically a bunch of nerds trying to raise children, brief mentions of abuse, but the children are basically raising them, child!kuroko, idk what are tags, mama Momoi, past abusive relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-13
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-03-22 19:03:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3740086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualkiseryouta/pseuds/bisexualkiseryouta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I. Kuroko Satsuki has had enough. Her husband- Hideo- is an abusive, lying, cheating bastard, and she knows that he won't change and that she needs to get herself and her son- her sweet boy, her Tetsuya- out of Hideo's reach. After months of careful planning and the help of Aida Riko, her son's basketball coach, Kuroko Satsuki and her son settle into their new life as Watanabe Sakura and Tetsuya, two completely normal, average-looking, upstanding citizens. But, are they really out of Hideo's reach? Or, is their new life about to be interrupted?</p><p>II. Aomine Daiki comes home one night, after a <i>long</i> day of work to find that his roommate- that stupid Bakagami- has found himself a kid because of his stupid goddamn hero complex. Aomine's days of lazing around and watching porn on the living room couch are over- and he has that weird, overly-polite Akashi kid to thank for it. Plus, they have a new neighbor with a kid of their own and because the gods <i>hate</i> Aomine, the neighbor kid and that Bakagami's kind-of-but-not-really kid are becoming inseparable and they keep playing pranks on him goddamn it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Great Escape.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Satsuki- soon to be Momoi Satsuki once again- makes her great escape, with her darling son in toe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I've been working on this fic for quite a bit, and I wanted to post the first two chapters together as one, but now I've decided against this, so this is the beginning of Momoi and Tetsuya's storyline~ Trigger warnings: mentions of abuse, past abusive relationships
> 
> Comments/kudos/crit are welcome!
> 
> Betaed by chibidumpling1198 on ff.net!

People make bad choices all the time. It’s one bad choice after another. They just keep coming until someone’s six feet under and they don’t have any choices left to make.

Or, at least, that's how it feels.

Imagine this: a pretty, smart girl with a bright future meets a guy- a smart, handsome guy- who she swears up and down is her soulmate. Her father likes him, thinks his daughter’s new boyfriend is the type of guy he’d like to take care of her: rich, educated, treats her well. Her mother, of course, doesn’t like him. She gives him nervous, suspicious looks when he comes to pick up her daughter for dates. She sighs with worried eyes when another package- another gift- is delivered to the door. The daughter doesn’t care what anyone thinks. This is love- that’s how she feels about it.

The daughter dates the man for a suitable amount of time. One year, two years, three years. Sometimes, she doubts that this is the one, but those doubts are so small and quiet she can hardly hear them over the love she holds for him. That overwhelming feeling of love that always comes with a first love drowns out all the warning signs and red flags. He seems the same as he was at the start. Maybe a little more distant, maybe a little meaner, maybe a little more cynical. But, people mature, right? That was how she wrote it off.

The wedding is a nice thing. There’s certainly a lot of pretty flowers. There definitely isn’t a bride getting cold feet in a back room, listening to a maid of honor telling her that it’s natural, that their marriage will be amazing, that, if the two of them can’t make it, what hope do the rest of them have? There also isn’t a groom hooking up with a bridesmaid in a back room, getting red lipstick on his collar, feeling surprisingly not guilty for cheating on his future wife mere moments before the two of them say their vows with as much enthusiasm and love as they can muster for someone who they love much less now than they did before.

The first few years are alright. The house is beautiful- nice and airy and comfortable with room for future children to scramble around energetically- and she spends most of her time not at work but in the kitchen, pouring all of her energy into making beautiful, yummy meals. It takes a long time to overcome her ability to ruin any and all food; she was never a good cook. Giving people things she cooked was always more of a punishment than a treat. Slowly, though, she learns how to cook well. After spending so much time watching those cooking shows, it would be really sad if she could still only boil eggs- and that was just occasionally.

She pointedly ignores the late hours her husband stays out and never asks about the perfume she smells on him or the lipstick stains on his collar. She’s not stupid. Her job is to be observant and collect information and reason her way to an answer. It’s not like she doesn’t know. But, what is she supposed to say? ‘Why am I not enough?’ ‘Why don’t you love me anymore?’ ‘Did you ever really love me?’ ‘Am I just yours for appearances?’ What would asking him do? Just confirm her suspicions and make it impossible for her to stay with him? So, she doesn’t. She keeps quiet and learns how to cook and tells her friends at work that everything is just peachy.

The baby is a surprise. A good, happy surprise, but still a surprise. An unexpected result from a scheduled moment of intimacy from two people who don’t love each other- but a good, unexpected result. She finds herself sitting and smiling down at her belly and stroking her baby bump more and more frequently. She’d always thought having children would be fun, but her dreams of being a mother have slowly been fading along with her dreams of a happy marriage. Her husband doesn’t say much when she tells him the good news. He starts working even later.

She starts ‘nesting’. She paints one of the empty rooms a pretty blue color- blue like the sky, blue like her husband’s hair. She sits on the floor, staring down at instructions, and wastes hours trying to construct a crib. She watches over the installation of carpet on the hardwood floor of the baby’s room; everyone on the internet in mom chat rooms insist that you need carpeting if you don’t want a constantly bruised baby. She’s really gotten into the mommy chat rooms recently- she’s got all those baby books piled up by her side of the bed in her bedroom, too. 

The whole giving birth deal isn’t something she would ever like to repeat, she discovers soon enough. Sure, she ends up with a beautiful baby boy who looks just like his father, but it’s painful and she ends up all alone in the hospital, her parents out of the country on a trip, her friends unreachable, and her husband uncaring.

Soon enough, though, she realizes she doesn’t care very much about her husband at all.

Her son- Tetsuya- is adorable and everything she ever wanted; he’s a quiet baby, but very ticklish, and he has the most delightful laugh. She puts his playpen in the kitchen most days and he switches between watching her cook with big, round, blue eyes and smashing his toys together with sweet, ridiculous little sound effects. Her husband tells her to quit her job, they have enough money without her job anyways, and it would be stupid to waste money on daycare- so she does. Not for him, but for her adorable little Tetsuya.

Six years later, six years of her useless, cheating husband and his verbal, emotional, and occasionally physical abuse, six years of her beautiful baby boy growing up, and she’s here, sitting with a black eye on the living room couch, wondering what she can possibly do at this point. No job, no money of her own, no way to leave.

No way to stay either though.

* * *

“Mama?” Tetsuya’s voice is concerned. “Shh, shh, Tetsuya. We have to be quiet, okay?” Satsuki presses a finger to her lips and gives him an encouraging smile. Once she’s sure Tetsuya isn’t going to make any noise, she pads over to his dresser, roughly shoving random articles of clothing into a duffle bag. Her eyes settle on a picture resting atop the dresser: it’s the three of them at an amusement park, all cuddled up together like they’re a real family.

She flips the picture around and drops a few of Tetsuya’s toys into the duffle bag.

“Sweetie, could you change out of your jammies and into these? Make sure not to be noisy and put your jammies in the bag when you’re done. Mommy will be right back, okay?” The tiny, blue-haired boy bobs his head in understanding. Satsuki feels her chest constrict; they could stay. They could- and she could, she doesn’t know, give Hideo an ultimatum- she doesn’t have to do this-

Satsuki ignores the path of her thoughts. They’re leaving. No ifs, ands, or buts. Tetsuya quietly gets out of his bed- his big boy bed with the blue sheets with little cute sheeps on them- and dutifully pulls off his red and blue train pajamas. There’s a bruise on his ribcage.

She makes her way through the hallway towards the bathroom, thanking whatever God is up there that she hasn’t used the master bathroom in years, because if she had to go back into that room with Hideo lying unconscious on the bed, she knows something bad would happen. What exactly would happen, she doesn’t know. Satsuki just knows it would be another roadblock in the way of getting herself and her baby out of there.

The bathroom is an experience. Who knew using plastic bags to bag toiletries was loud as hell? She winces as she opens every bag and as she closes every bag, trying not to think about what will happen if the stupid snapping plastic bags wake up Hideo. What is a five minute job of packaging the toothbrushes and toothpaste and razors and shampoo and soap turns into a twenty minute job with at least five extra minutes of panicking. Satsuki dumps the bags into one of those oversized beach bags that every mom seems to own twenty of before moving to the cabinet below the sink. She reaches behind the bottles of lotion and sunscreen and other assorted crap, pulling out the two boxes of hair coloring. Those go in the bag with a few hand towels, and then she’s carefully walking through the hallway, avoiding the random creaky spots.

Tetsuya is sitting on his bed, lacing up his sneakers, when she gets back. Unsurprisingly, he figured out that they were leaving. “Good job, baby. Clothes in the bag?” He nods and stands up, ready to leave. Satsuki produces two hats from her beach bag, placing one on her son’s head and the other on her own, pulling her ponytail through the back of it.

“Can you carry this?” Tetsuya dutifully takes the beach bag and drapes it over his small frame, letting the strap fall across his body. “Okay. We’re off then.”

For some reason, it’s not hard leaving the house. Satsuki was anticipating some more panicking and worry and wondering if it was really worth it- but she feels none of those things. Maybe a little regret, for taking her son out of the place he grew up in, but besides that, she feels nothing for that house or her husband or her life there.

Riko is sitting in her car when they reach the meeting place. It’s a five minute walk from their house, by the park with the rusted swing set. “Hey.” Emotions are welling up again and Satsuki feels like she’s choking on all the gratitude she feels for Riko. She’s a coach at the rec center Tetsuya goes to for basketball. She’s also the only person Satsuki could ask for help with her plan. “Hey. Get in, I don’t have all night.” Satsuki nods and stuffs Tetsuya into the back seat with the duffel bag and his dog plushie that she somehow remembered at the last second. He would’ve been a real handful without his plushie. It keeps him calm whenever they travel.

She slides into the passenger seat and Riko turns the key in the ignition, scowling as her old junk heap gurgles to life. “Sorry for, you know, all of this-”

“Satsuki. It’s fine.” There’s a weird feeling in her chest. It’s been awhile since someone called her anything besides ‘Kuroko-san’. “Thanks, Riko-chan.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get to the train station before you thank me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, I pretty much know where I'm going with the story, but if you have comments or suggestions or theories, feel free to share them!
> 
> Preview for next chapter...  
> "What- fuck."
> 
> "Aho!" Kagami claps his hands in an exaggerated fashion over the kid's ears. "There is a child." In any other situation, hearing his roommate get so offended over him cursing around a kid would be pretty damn hilarious. However, right now it is not funny because Aomine just got home from a long-ass day at work to find a small child in his kitchen and he just died a little inside. "Bakagami, what the actual fuck. Who the fuck does that belong to."
> 
> "Wow."
> 
> "Stopping bein' a douche and explain."


	2. I Don't Deserve This Honestly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Aomine Daiki comes home from a long day of crime fighting- read: tackling a teenage shoplifter- to find his roommate has acquired a small child, and he can't help but wonder what god he's pissed off to get himself into this mess_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, chapter 2! Thanks for the comments/kudos! They've made me a lot more confident in the story ^w^ Feel free to leave criticism or suggestions for this chapter, or tell me if Aomine and Kagami are OOC! This chapter is unbetaed because I just spontaneously wrote it and must post it before I second-guess myself 0.0
> 
> Enjoy!

"What- fuck."

"Aho!" Kagami claps his hands in an exaggerated fashion over the kid's ears. "There is a _child_." In any other situation, hearing his roommate get so offended over him cursing around a kid would be pretty damn hilarious. However, right now it is _not_ funny because Aomine just got home from a long-ass day at work to find a small child in his kitchen and he just died a little inside. "Bakagami, what the actual fuck. Who the fuck does that belong to."

"Wow."

"Stopping bein' a douche and explain."

The kid can't be any older than maybe six, but he'd be on the small side for a six year old, probably. Shit, he doesn't know. He doesn't know what a fucking six year old would look like, damn. Anyways, the kid is around five or six and he's sitting on one of the barstools by their kitchen counter, looking like he _belongs_ there or something. He looks like a fucking nerd kid too. Sweater vest, short-sleeved white dress shirt, uncomfortable looking brown shorts, white socks pulled all the way up, and shiny brown dress shoes? Definitely a fucking nerd kid. Aomine would know. He used to beat up nerd kids.

Kagami makes a face at him- a _I hope you’re fucking happy, asshole_ face- and lets his hands drop from the kid’s ears. “Seijuurou, do you want to go watch some TV?” The kid looks up at Kagami for a moment, as if waiting for him to retract the offer, before sliding off the barstool and marching to the living room, all prim and proper and perfect posture. _Definitely a fucking nerd kid_.

Once the boy is out of ear shot, Kagami shoots him the dirtiest look he’s ever gotten. “Did you have to be a complete asshole?”

“Yep.” Aomine says simply as he takes the kid’s vacated seat. He pulls his hat off and drops it on the kitchen counter, running his fingers over his hair. His roommate shifts uncomfortably. “I was about to call you to warn you.” He offers.

“I’m sure.”

“Aho, I totally was!”

“Shut up with your whining and explain yourself, Baka!”

Kagami leans back from where he’d been leaning closer and closer as he got angrier. Aomine leans back on his stool because of the same thing. If there’s one thing the two roommates have in common (and there are many), it’s that they go from 0 to 100 in a second. Quick to anger, slow to cool down.

The redhead leans against the counter and lets out a sigh before starting to recount his tale. “Well, we got a call around 8 in the morning about a fire in one of those real fancy neighborhoods with the huge mansions. The person who called in was really calm about the whole thing, so we didn’t realize that it was so fuckin’ bad already until the truck pulled up to the curb and we saw the whole damn thing was up in flames. There were a bunch of neighbors and servants who worked in the house out front; a few more servants were stumbling out covered in soot and coughing. Lucky they hadn’t died from smoke inhalation since they were walking completely upright.

“Anyways, some of the other guys were hooking up the hose- we were told to just focus on containing the fire and stopping it from spreading, Hyuuga didn’t want to risk any of us going in for nothing- when one of the servants ran up to me. She was completely fuckin’ hysterical, sobbing about the young master being stuck inside or some shit. Took me a while to realize she meant the kid of the house was stuck in his room. Apparently, his parents locked him inside his room every night ’cause he has this sleep walking thing, so he couldn’t have gotten out even if he tried.

“Hyuuga and I had to fuckin’ find someone else to tell us where his room was ’cause she was so shook up. One of the butlers managed to give us good enough directions and it looked like his room hadn’t caught on fire yet, so we busted through the kitchen window ’cause the kitchen was directly under his room and we took the servants’ stair case up to the second floor. The hallway was a complete wreck- there was debris everywhere and the smoke was so thick you could barely see a thing. Hyuuga and me managed to break down the door to the kid’s room after a few kicks. We didn’t see him at first since he was hiding in a corner, but when Hyuuga noticed him, I picked him up and we got the hell out of dodge. Hyuuga got a real hard hit on the shoulder by some wood falling from the ceiling on our way out. Knocked it right out of the socket.

“The other guys eventually managed to put the fire out after a while. The EMTs got there and Takao- ya know, Midorima’s husband- looked the kid over, but he seemed to be fine. Around noon some guys finally got into his parents’ bedroom, and they’d died pretty quick. The best guess was they suffocated ’cause of the smoke and then got burned up after they were already dead.

“We tried to leave the kid with one of the servants, but all of them had some excuse or wanted to go see their family or whatever, and Hyuuga called the social worker office- whatever the fuck you call it-, but since it’s the weekend they didn’t have anyone they could send out to collect the kid. Then, we drew straws, and I ended up with the kid.”

“You drew fucking straws?”

“What else did you want us to do? Flip a coin?”

“Why don’t you keep him at the station? Or leave him on someone’s doorstep? Or dump him at an orphanage? Or even leave him in a random park? You didn’t have to bring him home.”

“Sorry, Satan, I didn’t feel like leaving a six-year-old kid to get fucking murdered in the park.”

“Just shut the fuck up.” Aomine grumbles as he drops his head on the counter, groaning like a little kid who didn’t get his way. Kagami makes a noise of displeasure. “Go take a shower. You smell like shit.”

“Fuck you.”

“Just stating the obvious. And tone down on the cursing.”

“You’ve been cursing this whole time?”

“Just around you, dumbass. I don’t need to worry about corrupting your perverted fucking ears.”

“Whatever. Make food while I shower.” Aomine pushes himself up and makes towards the hallway. His muscles ache real bad from tackling a would-be thief earlier. _Why is everything so painful? I just want to sleep. And eat. And look at Mai-chan’s boobs. And play basketball. Is that too much to ask?_ The tall man pauses when he passes by the living room to peer in at the kid. He seems mesmerized by the cartoon he’s watching; all Aomine can tell is that it’s brightly colored and that there’s a bad-ass looking curvy character with a square afro. His eyes settle on the kid, and he annoyingly feels a little bit of pity for him. His parents _were_ burned to a crisp that morning and all. A pretty shitty day all in all, he guesses.

A few more seconds of silent observing pass before Aomine continues down the hallway to the bathroom. He shuts the door carelessly behind him as he strips out of his police uniform. There are a few stray bruises on his chest, but otherwise he’s completely unharmed for once. No bullet holes, no knife wounds. It’s a nice change of pace. Since he’s only been an officer for- what- four, five years now, he’s still stuck patrolling the shittiest neighborhoods and being sent out for the most dangerous calls. Sometimes he’s grateful for it- a boring desk job would suck-, but other times he wishes he could get a cushy assignment with minimal chasing and low chances of being killed.

The shower makes an uncomfortable sputtering sound for a few seconds before it starts shooting out a steady stream of hot water. Aomine makes sure to turn it up so that there’s steam coming rising from the water; he can’t handle a shower with water any cooler than scalding. Even if he’s burning up and sweaty, he’d rather burn in hell than take a cold shower. Literally. Burning in hell would be a nicer, more welcome option.

Aomine uses Kagami’s body wash and his shampoo because he ran out a month ago and has yet to pick up more of his own. It’s weird as fuck to use Kagami’s, not ’cause he feels weird about sharing that kind of thing, but because Kagami’s stuff doesn’t smell like anything but soap while Aomine’s usual brands smell like the woods and musk and manliness. It’s a weird change in scent.

“Shit, fuck me, god DAMN it.” A few more choice curses slip out as he tries to wash the shampoo out of his eyes. Every fucking time he gets shampoo in his eyes- every FUCKING time. His eyes burn and the water is starting to feel too hot and he smells significantly better, so he hops out of the shower and feels for his towel blindly.

When he opens his eyes after wrapping the towel around his waist, Aomine’s gaze rests on a very embarrassed looking kid hovering in the doorway, doing that shuffling feet thing that means he has to pee.

 “Sorry-”

“Just piss and get out.” Aomine cuts him off. The boy nods slightly and walks to the toilet, turning his back to Aomine so he can relieve himself. Aomine turns away from the kid, towards the mirror, and starts brushing his teeth calmly. _God fucking damn it, Kagami better not kill me for flashing this little fucking freak, that was not my fault, I never lock the fucking door, it was a timing thing, he would have pissed his pants or something-_ There’s the sound of paints zipping and the toilet flushing. The little boy sidles over to the sink to stand beside Aomine. The man takes a step back, calmly continuing to brush his teeth with one hand and hold his towel shut with the other, and the boy slides in front of him to wash his hands. _Damn, he’s small isn’t he._ Aomine looks down at the kid curiously. He’s never really liked kids, but he’s never really hated them, either. And this one doesn’t seem too high maintenance. Aomine can probably survive having him around ’til Monday.

The boy finishes washing his hands and pads out of the bathroom, his bare feet making a squelching noise on the bathroom tile.

Aomine spits the excess toothpaste into the sink and drops his toothbrush in the glass jar they use as a toothbrush holder. Indifferently, he realizes that he just used Kagami’s toothbrush. Oh well. His roommate probably has a pretty clean mouth.

 “Put a fucking shirt on. Dinner’s ready.” Kagami pipes up as he suddenly appears in the doorway. Wow, Aomine is tired; he’s not noticing a damn thing.

 “That kid needs to be gone by Monday.”

 “…Yeah. I know.”

 “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preview for the next chapter:  
>  _Satsuki stares in the mirror as she holds the scissors near her hair. There’s a small part of her that’s screaming at her- saying that she will never be herself again once she does this. There’s no going back once she cuts all her hair off. The woman she’s been for her entire life will be gone. The realization makes her want to cry._  
>  But that woman needs to be gone, _she tells herself._ She needs to be replaced by a woman who will protect herself and her son.  
>  _Satsuki takes the scissors to her hair, viciously sawing through the pink locks. Kuroko Satsuki is gone._  
>  Momoi Satsuki is here to stay.


	3. Watanabe Sakura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Satsuki and her son, Tetsuya, start their new lives as Watanabe Sakura and Tetsuya and meet their new landlord, a hulking, kind-seeming man named Kiyoshi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, another un-betaed chapter because I'm lazy and wanted to update ASAP. This is another Momoi & Kuroko chapter that I cranked out real quick. Hope you guys enjoy :p
> 
> Comments/kudos/criticism are welcome!

_“What are your most obvious features?”_

_Satsuki startles, almost dropping the box of hair dye she was inspecting at the sound of a voice_ right behind her _. After shakily placing the box back on the shelf, she turns around to find Aida Riko watching her with narrowed brown eyes. “Hair dye isn’t enough. You’re more than a hair color. Sure, a bit of dye might make it harder to find you, but just a new hair color won’t do it.” The brown-haired woman leans casually against a cardboard display for a new brand of baby wipes that supposedly does wonders for sensitive baby bottoms. “I’d suggest colored contacts. Go to the optometrist. Don’t try to buy them online. Less of a trail, plus you’ll get higher quality ones that won’t mess up your eyes. Also, lots of sports bras. A flatter chest will draw less attention.” Satsuki’s speechless. Why was Aida-san suggesting all of this? Did she know something? Did Tetsuya mention something?_

_“Don’t freak out. Tetsuya-chan didn’t tell me anything.” Riko says smoothly, sensing the pink-haired woman’s unease. “Your concealer is a few shades off from your skin color.” The brunette’s eyes zero in on the bruising on Satsuki’s left wrist which she didn’t bother to use cover up on; she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and she could always say she fell or something if asked about it. She didn’t think anyone was paying enough attention to notice._

_She didn’t think anyone cared enough to notice._

_“Don’t try to look pretty. Pretty draws attention. Let your hair be messy and wear oversized clothes. Be as average-looking as you can possible be.” Riko pushed off from the display, waltzing over to grab a box of hair dye for herself, and whispered softly in Satsuki’s ear. “We can coordinate. When you pick up Tetsuya-chan from practice, come in for a chat. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”_

_“Why?” Satsuki inquires, aghast. “Why are you helping me?” Why would this woman she hardly knows want to help her? People don’t_ do _that. They don’t help for no reason._

_Riko meets her confused gaze with a confident one; her jaw is firmly set and her shoulders are squared. She seems so, so sure of herself. “We have to stick together.” Riko says simply._

_As the petite woman walks away to purchase her box of hair dye, Satsuki notices a scar on the side of her neck. It’s a thick, silvery, raised line that’s about two inches long; it’s the result of a deep wound from long ago._

_“So that’s why.”_

_“Mama?” Satsuki quickly turns to find her son walking down the aisle towards her, apparently done fawning over the cheap toys at the end of the aisle. “Ah, there’s my sweet boy! Ready to go?”_

*          *          *

It took months of preparation to get to this point. Satsuki was never one to do things spontaneously without careful planning and consideration; she liked to have plans and back up plans and assured success. So, after thinking about it, after her first conversation with Riko about it in the drug store, Satsuki sat down and planned everything out extensively. She hid the notebook filled with the information she accumulated under a loose floor board in Tetsuya’s room, taking it out to write things in it only when she was positive no one was watching.

Her fingers close tightly around the notebook now as they walk quickly through the train station. It’s late- very late- so the station is mostly empty. Although, even if the station was full, she’s confident they wouldn’t draw much attention. Who’s going to look at a woman with chin-length, black hair and dark brown eyes hustling through the station with her black-haired, blue-eyed son? The biggest problem is how quickly Satsuki runs out of breath because of how constricting her sports bra is. It’s worth it, though; the bra makes her breasts look a few cup sizes smaller. Men are less likely to notice a woman with an average chest than one with an ample bosom.

The duffel bag bounces against Satsuki’s hip violently and she’s sure she’ll have a bruise there. Tetsuya is asleep on his feet. Her firm grip on his hand is probably the only thing keeping him stumbling along. _C’mon, baby, just a little longer._ Her fingers tighten around his small hand. _We’re so close. Just a little farther._

Her cell phone is gone. She left it at home- no. Not home anymore. She left it at their _old home_. The SIM card is completely destroyed. The phone has no incriminating evidence. No clues for Hideo to use to find them.

In her new wallet- a plain, black, cheap thing she bought at a random store at one of their stops-, there’s a few 1000 yen notes in addition to a handful of coins. It should be enough to tide them over until she can find a job; Riko already secured them an apartment under Momoi’s new name. The landlord is a nice young man who was happy to let them mail hi, the payment for the first two months’ rent and the safety deposit _in cash_ and fax him a signed copy of the lease agreement without them visiting the apartment or talking to him in person. Satsuki doesn’t know if the guy is too trusting or just doesn’t care who lives in his building as long as they pay rent.

Besides the money in her wallet, there are also two new, fake, basic resident registration cards. One for Watanabe Sakura, a black-haired, brown-eyed, almost-thirty-year-old single mother, who lives in a small, cheap apartment near the train station in a medium-sized city and one for Watanabe Tetsuya, a black-haired, blue-eyed, six-year-old son of said single mother. Satsuki has other falsified identification documents in a file folder in the duffle bag. Nothing _looks_ fake and she doesn’t intend to do anything that would require someone studying any of her new identification papers, but Riko insisted that if something like that were to happen, the documents would hold up.

Satsuki and Tetsuya burst out of the station and continue hurrying down the street. _Just four more blocks, just four more blocks._ The directions from the train station to the apartment are scribbled in her notebook somewhere, but she’s read over them so much that she doesn’t need to check them again. _Turn left here. Now right. Now… we’re here._

The apartment building is four stories and a bit run-down looking, but, all-in-all, it seems fine. At this point, Satsuki would be fine sleeping in a dumpster; she just needs to lie down and be unconscious for a day or two. The adrenaline rush all this running away business caused has left her exhausted. She’s too tired to even worry anymore. _Third door on the second floor._ Satsuki drags Tetsuya up the stairs, leaning heavily on the railing. When they reach the door, she stares in confusion at a small potted plant that is placed right in front of it. _What?_ “What?” Satsuki repeats out loud because obviously saying it out loud will get her an answer. _Key. Key?_ She crouches down and picks up the plant to find the key to the apartment on the ground below it. _Well then. The key._ Satsuki forgot that she asked the landlord to leave the key somewhere near the door instead of mailing it to her. She didn’t want Hideo finding it and figuring out what was going on. _Isn’t it kind of obvious to put it under a plant, though?_

Deciding that she does’t care enough to stand out there contemplating whether the landlord leaving the key under a random potted plant made sense or not, Satsuki shoves the key into the lock, letting out a sigh of relief when the door opens. _Thank goodness._ “Come on, sweet boy. We’re here.”

And, with that, Kuroko Satsuki and her son, Tetsuya, enter their new apartment and their new lives begin.

*          *          *

Satsuki wakes up to someone knocking on the apartment door.

It would be nice to say that she wakes up and, for a moment, doesn’t remember anything. It would be nice to say that she doesn’t remember Hideo or the abuse or the escape or the fear or anything of the sort.

But, the world is not nice, and so Satsuki does not get a moment to forget. She sits up ramrod straight, fear making her heart quicken uncomfortably, a cold sweat breaking out all over her body. Her breathing quickens dramatically and she feels like she’s about to die because _he’s here, it has to be him, he’s here and he’s going to-_

No. No. It’s not Hideo. Hideo doesn’t know.

Satsuki forces herself to awkwardly clamber to her feet. Her back aches. Sleeping on the floor of the living room with Tetsuya because she couldn’t make it to a bed was probably a terrible decision that she will regret until she gets some coffee and Advil. The knocking continues as she slowly pads over to the door, hoping that the person knocking will give up and leave.

The person does not give up. The knocking continues and she can hear Tetsuya making his little waking up noises because of the stupid knocking on the stupid door.

She sighs. Her colored contacts are still in since she didn’t take them off last night, so she guesses its fine to open the door. The uncomfortable feeling of her chest being smushed is still there, so her sports bra is obviously still on. Satsuki should still look the part of Watanabe Sakura.

She opens the door to find a hulking man with a kind face and light brown hair standing at the door. “Ah, you must be Watanabe-san! I wanted to introduce myself; I’m your landlord, Kiyoshi Teppei.” Kiyoshi smiles down at her and she’s still thinking _he’s so_ tall when she realizes he’s waiting for an answer. “Ah, nice to meet you, Kiyoshi-san. I’m Watanabe Sakura.” She bows politely, hoping that Kiyoshi just wants a quick introduction. Although he seems nice enough and allowed her to rent this apartment even though she must have seemed quite shady, Satsuki is wary of the man. He could have bad intentions, and now she doesn’t have a husband- albeit a terrible, abusive one- to fend off men who would take advantage of her.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. And, if you don’t mind, I have a small request.” Kiyoshi says while continuing to smile that friendly smile. _It seems like there’s something going on beneath his friendliness… it doesn’t feel like anything bad, though._ Satsuki doesn’t feel particularly threatened by her landlord- despite his hulking stature-, but she isn’t sure if her judgement is good enough to decide based on her feeling about him. She didn’t _feel_ like Hideo was a bad person and look where that feeling got her. “Yes?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to have breakfast with you and your son. There’s a good café right down the street- no more than a block away. I’d like to learn more about my new tenants.” The man continues to smile, but Satsuki hears a little suspicion in his voice. _Oh, thank God, he just thinks we’re shady._ “It’s no trouble at all. Would it be alright if my son and I take a moment to get ready?”

“Of course! Take your time. I have another tenant I’d like to check on in the meantime. I’ll be in the apartment to your left, so when you’re ready, just knock on the door, alright?” Satsuki nods. “Great! Until then, Watanabe-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter:  
>  _"What the fuck, Kiyoshi?"_  
>  Their landlord gives the dark blue-haired police officer a look of faux confusion and innocence after barging into their apartment in the middle of breakfast. "What? Can't I check up on my tenants?"  
> "Not when they're eating fucking breakfast and you come in uninvited, Jesus Christ!"


End file.
